It almost seems like a distant memory. Plan a trip? No problem. Is that person smiling or scowling? Pretty obvious to me. Enough toilet paper on the grocery shelves? What kind of crazy question is that? And now – it seems ‘twas a utopian existence reduced to sweet memory.  

Lighthearted banter aside, Italy, perhaps more than any other country, has lived the darkness of the current pandemic in ways we hope can still only be imagined. From great economic loss related to tourism, tragic loss of life, and extended months of confinement, the pain is real. And yet, optimism is alive and well.